Adam Johnson reckons his pal Danny Graham has returned to the North East a stronger character after being released by Middlesbrough six years ago.

Graham came through the ranks at the Riverside but was let go in 2007 at the age of 21, picking up his career at Carlisle and Watford before establishing himself in the top flight with Swansea City last season and then making a £5m move north for a reunion with his ex-Boro team-mates Johnson and Lee Cattermole on Wearside.

Johnson says the decision to let Graham leave Boro took many by surprise – not least himself, Cattermole and even Boro’s academy staff – but he insists it is no surprise to him that the 27-year-old has since shown that he can cut it at the top level.

“We were all surprised that he was released at the time – myself, Lee Cattermole, I think even Academy director Dave Parnaby was – but we had a lot of strikers come in and he was the one who they decided to let go,” said Johnson.

“But I’ve spoken to Danny about it and he thinks it may have actually ended up being a blessing in disguise, and things have ended up better for him than if he had stayed. Other strikers had come in and he feels he would probably have been behind them.

“So leaving and going to Carlisle worked out well for him. I think that sometimes, after that kind of rejection, you come back stronger.

“I always thought he would do well and he’s shown that straight away from doing well at all the clubs he’s played for before getting the move to Sunderland.”

Graham was Martin O’Neill’s No 1 attacking transfer target in the January window, with the Black Cats boss determined to bring him in to shoulder some of the goalscoring burden that had mainly been shouldered by Steven Fletcher in the first half of the season.

The striker made his debut in Sunderland’s defeat at Reading last weekend, coming off the bench for the final 10 minutes, and he immediately showed why O’Neill was so keen to sign him.

He twice got on the end of precision deliveries into the box from Johnson, and only a goal-saving block from a defender and a brilliant save from Royals keeper Adam Federici denied Graham a debut goal.

Johnson said: “I think Danny’s a great signing for us.

“He’s a quality striker and he just seems to have that knack of getting in the right place in the right time for when the ball drops in the area.

“He’s here to score goals and I’m sure he will. You could see the effect he had when he came on in the game against Reading and, from a winger’s point of view, it’s great to have someone to hit in the box.

“Sometimes when you are playing and you have two men around you and one striker in the box with two men around him, it’s difficult to do anything.

“But when all of a sudden you have two strikers in the box it can make a real difference.

“I’ve said before to Fletch that when there’s just him in the box it can be so hard to play him in.

“But when you’ve got more bodies in the box, you can often really get at teams.”